A1386g

t/w: Stillbirth.

"Master," I said as I walked into the office. "Mama Kelly gave me your mail, and there was a box addressed to me from someone named Ariel Cooley?"

"Thank you Marie," Master said as I handed him a stack of envelopes and a box that was about as big as all of them put together. "Sit down, and open the box. Let's see what's in it."

Inside the box was a stack of papers in an envelope, another envelope, and a physical media icon in a case. Master looked at me for a minute before laughing a bit. "That's a DVD. There's a video on it."

I nodded. I'd had to watch training videos before, of course, but they had someone else to set everything up. People like me didn't have to worry about it, especially with how fragile everything seemed.

"I'm going to go put it in so you can watch it." He said. It still took ten minutes of work and getting Constance to explain how to set the DVD player up over the phone before the video ran.

It was an orientation video intended for me. Master's grandmother, Ariel, was explaining everything I had to do. Things like cleaning my master's personal quarters, seeing to his clothes and needs, and probably bearing his children as a result of those needs. I could feel Master squirming next to me as his grandmother described the last part in explicit detail. That wasn't everything, though. The confusing thing was that they also had a lot of responsibility towards me? I was just their slave, after all. Good food, fair punishments, I couldn't be separated from my children before they started school, the works. I also was apparently entitled to a hefty allowance for things, probably to simplify things for my Master's family. A bigger one than Master got even. There was one bit that stuck out to me, though...

"Additionally, while state law does require us to provide you with a proper burial or interment, what that involves requires a conversation between yourself and our sexton. You need to have that conversation the next time you're up at Kishim, and he will make time for it. Traditionally, each generation of the family has a tomb built for themselves, their husband, any minor or stillborn children. We don't usually have other branches coming off, so your Master, and also Anne, will have to plan out their own. If either of you are watching, you need to finish that now. Call the household office and get it done."

On an impulse, I paused the video and turned to my Master. "I can choose who I'm buried with?" I asked, thinking.

"Well, yes."

"I want my daughter's remains, and she will be buried with us." I said, with more conviction than anything else I'd said in my life.

Master was taken aback at this, visibly shocked. "What 'us?'"

"You, me, and your wife, Master." I replied, shifting back into a cute smile. "Can the Household office get me those remains? I know St. Amalies only buries remains at the end of the fiscal year."

"Sure, I'll go make the call now, but it might take a few days. Do you have anything else for me to tell them?"

"She should be from the A1616 or A1617 batches, since Katerina was an A1618." I responded after a moment. "Master, don't forget to mention my number. It's A1386G if you don't remember"

While he ran off to make that call, I sat in my seat, thinking. I had taken a child to term in St. Amalies. When they'd delivered her so quietly, I'd worried. Then the worst had come true. I wasn't sure I could try again. If Master didn't ask me to, I'm not sure if I wanted to try again.

When Master came back, the clock was notably later. Making a little hand motion, he signaled for me to get up so he could go back to sitting down- this time with an empathetic thud. Carefully, I settled in next to his legs, unsure how to react to this new mood.

"That breeder has an abominable doctor," he groaned, "but it's taken care of. The remains are getting put aside, and we can pick them up starting tomorrow or have them delivered."

"Thank you, Master."

Reaching down, he took a minute to rub my head. I leaned into it, happy at the contact at least. "You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"Wait, you're going personally?"

"It's only in Lithia, so I can borrow a car, go there and drop some stuff off at the condo afterwards." He said. "You could see Janice as well."

"Can I see Miss Rebecca and Honesty?" I asked.

"What about?"

"All this," I said as I waved my hand around. "Master, it's something you might not be the best person for, and I can't talk to my sister about, because it's why the two of us and Kat are where we are."

"So Rebecca and Honesty." He said. "Do they know?"

"Yes."

"We'll call them up." He said.

The next day, Master and I dressed formally, him in a suit and me in my most conservative uniform, and drove up to St. Amalie's in his father's car. Unlike the first time I had ridden in it, I got to sit up front. We rode mostly in silence, broken only by his questions about life at the breeder, and my answers. I don't think he liked what he heard.

After we parked, he looked at me and said, "Before we go in, I do want you to know that whatever they say in there, I and everyone else care about you, and none of us would ever blame you or think this is your fault."

I cried a bit and hugged him, before I managed to choke back my tears well enough to respond with a thank you.

The front lobby was the same as it had been when I cleaned it last, although A1001B was now postpartum and had a few more gray hairs than I remembered, and still looking bored but attentive at the receptionist's desk.

"Oh," She said. "It's the other one."

Master and I looked at A1001B and I heard him say. "Excuse me?"

"Mister Petersen, A1386G, please put on your visitor ID badges and then take a seat, Doctor Hansen will be with you shortly." A1001B continued, as she held up a lanyard. "Additionally, if you would like to examine some of our stock or take a tour of our fine facility, I can also call someone from sales over."

"Our stock?" I asked as I took our badges. "You know why my master is here, right?"

"To pick up the remains of A1617S." A1001B replied. "I am still supposed to try to upsell, and while I don't know the young master's tastes, A1560E has your same dam and sire."

"She's five." I replied, as I handed my master his badge and put mine on.

"So? A1386J's master bought an infant." A1001B said. "I don't judge."

"B, stop antagonizing that girl." Said my old owner, Doctor Hansen. "You know why they're here, they're not going to buy another of your kids."

"Wait, B knows I'm her daughter? I thought we weren't allowed to know things like that because of favoritism." I replied, confused.

"I file all the birth certificates and our records." A1001B replied. "I know everything."

"Anyway, Mister Petersen, A1386G, if you would join me in my office?"

I don't think I had ever been in Doctor Hansen's office before. There was a large picture window out to one of the playgrounds, file cabinets lining the other wall, and a massive desk with the biggest monitors I'd ever seen on it pushed up against the far wall. Doctor Hansen directed my master to a sofa across a coffee table from the chair she took. There was a small cardboard box from the post office on the table, the same size as the one my orientation kit came in, along with a couple of books, a folder and a toy. I stood behind Master with my hands held together.

"Marie, you can sit down." Master said.

And so I did.

"This box," Doctor Hansen said as she pushed it toward me, "Contains the cremated remains of A1617S. As far as we've been able to tell, she had a genetic disorder incompatible with life, inherited from her sire. A1386G's previous attempt and A1386J's first attempt also had the same sire, although we were unaware of that at the time, and that was responsible for a few similar cases at other facilities. I have a few photographs of A1617S. If you or A1386G, sorry, Marie, would like to see them."

I thought for a second.

"Was it bad?" Master asked.

Doctor Hansen nodded.

"Then we won't." I replied as I picked up the very light and very small box. I started crying as I held my firstborn in my hands, trying and failing to not shake her box as I cried. "Is this something Master or I should be worried about in the future?"

"Unless Mister Petersen decides to take up recreational use of pesticides and is over fifty, probably not." Doctor Hansen said. "As far as we could tell before all three of you were sold, both of you are identical aside from the handedness, and A1618K was perfectly healthy. I don't see any reason why your future children should be any different. Although if you don't want to risk it, Mister Petersen, she has plenty of sisters and nieces here to pick from."

"Like A1560E?" Master said.

"Yes, although not just her." Doctor Hansen said. "A1001B's line is actually our premier line for blondes, so if you see a blonde here, it's probably at least a cousin of hers."

"I'll have to think on that." Master replied politely as he stood up and put out his hand. "Thank you for taking time out of your day for us so we could pick up A1617S."

"It was my pleasure." The Doctor replied as she stood up to shake Master's hand. "Your grandmother has been an important client of mine for years, and I look forward to having a fruitful relationship with you and the rest of your generation as well."

I stood up, bowed slightly, and then the two of us left the room, and headed to the condo.

After we sat down in the car, with both of us buckled in and the box on my lap, I started to cry. Master did what he could to comfort me, but I brushed his arm away and he then started driving.

As we got on the road, Master called Rebecca.

"Hey, are you at the condo?" Master asked.

"Yes, Honesty and I are in the sitting room. Janice is..." Rebecca paused for a moment, her hesitation evident even over the sound system. "...Around. I don't think she knows how to handle this. Constance and everyone know what's going on, so they're helping out how they can."

"Thank you." I managed to get out between sobs.

"Marie, do you know how to pray for the dead?" Rebecca asked.

I shook my head. "Not for this. We didn't talk about it or anything at St. Amalies, and I want her to not be treated like that." I said.

"Then I'm just going to have to teach you." Rebecca said. "We're going to sit shivah when you get here, so on the way up I want you to think of a name for her. Can you do that for me? It's the only thing you have to do today aside from mourn."

"I'll try." I replied. I had been looking at names for the last day, but nothing stuck out at me yet.

I'd say after that call we spent most of the drive in silence, but I mostly just cried as I looked up baby names on Master's phone.

"When you named me, what did you do?" I asked Master, as I looked at yet another list of alternatives to Morgiana. He stiffened slightly.

"You looked like a Marie, so I went with that." He said, as he never looked away from the road.

"So where did yours come from?"

"Patience, Constance and Grace all got theirs from virtues," Master said. "Except Constance isn't actually a virtue, it's a city in Germany. I was named after the guy who founded the family, and Anne was named after our paternal grandmother."

I nodded. "What about last names?"

"Use Petersen." Master said, "We already have you down as Marie Petersen, so that's just the easiest option. She's going to be buried with us, right?"

"Yes."

"Then she's getting my last name, because at this point I own both of you." Master said. It was not the most romantic thing he had ever said, but I think the intention and sentiment was there. I didn't say anything about it, and he clammed up again, so we just drove in silence the rest of the way to the condo.

Finally, it clicked. I put the phone back in the center console, and I looked down at my daughter's box.

"Hello, Serena." I said, in between sobs as I picked up the box and clutched it to my heaving chest. "I'm your mother and I love you more than you'll ever know."